INFINITE
by Fumagawa-Rin
Summary: Meet Fuusai. He is a college graduate with no jobs. He is fond of online gaming and truly addicted to it. The manager of a game center invited him to work there and he accepted. He got another job from the company which released VRMMORPG [INFINITE]. Expect what happen next, in the realm of Arkgea, the World in INFINITE.. My very first story.
1. Chapter 1

-That night

_Hey, would you promise me one thing?_

_A promise? About what?_

_Just tell me! Would you?_

_Geez, you're pushy as always. But yeah, I would._

_Great! Then, promise me. That you'll never ever leave from my side._

_Tch, that's not a simple one._

_Wha-? Hey, you promised!_

_Well, make a simpler one!_

_No! It's the most important thing for me! Or, do you hate me so much?_

_Are you kidding? You're almost impossible to hate._

_Then say it. You will never ever leave me._

_Alright! Listen well! I will never ever leave your side, no matter what happens. There! Are you happy know?_

_You bet I am! Thank you! Oh, and please keep your promise._

_What will you do if I break my promise?_

_Nuuu-! I will haunt you! FOREVER!_

"Gah!"

I leapt from my bed. Damn, I got that dream again. Not a bad one, I guess. But, it made my chest really hurt. My heart pounded harder whenever I dreamt about it. I took a deep breath, and let it loose very slowly. It's kinda difficult for me to get back on my bed after my eyes opened. I shot a glance to my alarm clock. It was three in the morning.

Forgive my rudeness. My name is Kyomatsu Fuusai. I am twenty one years old and currently working as assistant in a certain game center in my hometown. I lived alone in a small apartment, which consist of handful boarders and the landlord. He was a strict person yet able to maintain peace with the residents of his apartments. No arguments allowed unless he speaks first. All and all, he is a good old man. He is my favorite father figure, other than my own father, who had passed away several years ago. My mother left me in his care before she moved. I'm in debt with the landlord, so I would gladly offer my assistance whenever he calls for help. Oh, and the rent for this apartment? It just fit with my moderate monthly salary, let alone I could save for my other private needs.

Well, I do have a computer in my room. Its spec is, uh, average. At least I could use it to finish my weekly report and went online. Because I'm a game addict, that's why. I've played a lot of online games and considered myself as veteran. But the most enjoyable game right now, the [INFINITE], became my super top class priority game to play. Whenever chances are present, I definitely will turn the computer on and going all out playing this awesome VRMMORPG. I honestly didn't care about getting scolded by the landlord and the manager, as long as I could play INFINITE. The game just rocks!

There is another reason why I put a computer in my room. Due to my excellent skill at work, a game company asked me to do debugging on their projects. I'm not bluffing, seriously. The offer came several weeks after I managed to get work in the game center. The day was Tuesday, and I was busy with a bunch of customers who flooded the game center. They kept asking my advice to get through couple stages. Since I was working, it would be bad if they stopped playing here and decided to visit another game center. So, I gave them special treat. I already asked my manager before I did this. Wanna know what kind of treatment that I gave to them?

It was simple. I was 'switching' with them. 'Switching' here means I replaced the gaming console with others, taking control theirs avatars for a brief moment while giving important tips and sometimes tricks, in order to play INFINITE with less difficulty. I'm not finished playing INFINITE yet, the time I could track my own history I found out that I was just covered less than thirty percent of this game. The ratio amazed me, considering I've spent bloody hours to reveal every hidden features and changing [Class] over time just to know each [Skill] from each Class.

Developers were doing great with the battle system in INFINITE. They created [Skill EVO], a system that allows players to combine skills of their own with another. The skills must be the correct ones. Otherwise the system won't recognize them. When they succeed to combine their skills, the usual [Skill Evolved] notification banner would pop out. Then a very cool [Skill Activation] follows, showing the evolved skill to players who had their skills combined. Newly evolved skills will then appear in the [Skill Tree] as independent blocks with distinct glow around it. Players definitely had to use these skills, because they were insanely strong. But be careful, even the most powerful skill has flaws. The moment it turned on, the skill required certain condition. Like, we have to defeat monsters in twenty seconds after skill activated. If we couldn't fulfill the condition, we would stricken by abnormal status effects, mainly confused, paralyzed, bleeding, and exhaustion. It won't be any of fun when we just lay down in a dungeon, able to do nothing after we executed our most devastating skills. Monsters will own us, and we have to repeat the dungeon once more.

I told this to my customers. They were silently listening to my course with passion. I showed them too, which skills that could be combined and produced a new skill unique to every Class I had tried. They were surprised to an unbelievable degree when they heard this. They burst into shouts, hysteria, and probably mass-death, after my overdoing treatment ended. They logged on into the World of INFINITE, named Arkgea, and rushing to test every little detail I explained to them earlier. No more frowned faces can be seen. They were all smiling, even their avatars.

Less than three days, our game center was over flooded with customers. They would likely to play INFINITE, under my surveillance. I was a bit embarrassed when I know that they had come for me, but then I realized. I was working here to help them. I didn't have any intention to let them down. From that day on, thousands of minutes had passed for me, just to give a clear and easy to follow assistance to all customers who visited my game center.

News spread like a wildfire. Two weeks later, I got a shocking surprise. When I came to my workplace, the manager suddenly asked me to stop by in her office, which is located on third floor of the building. I was wondering, why does she call me? I got the answer soon.

I knocked the office door. A sweet voice can be heard from inside.

"Is that you, Fuusai-san?"

"Yes, it is! May I come in?"

"Please come in!"

I held the door handle and swung it down. The door opened and I walked into the room. There was a stunningly beautiful woman, sat on her chair and was reading a business magazine. She was the manager, Yoko Minamoto. She has long, silky blond hair and distinctive olive green eyes. Narrow eyebrows, chiseled cheeks and sharp nose gave her an exact image of an angel. And her lovely, ever smiling lips completed the heavenly art that God blessed upon her. Not to mention, she has a quite figure for her age, which was three years older than me. Her body proportion was, I would say, 90-55-90. Damn, she looked like a Barbie doll for me.

"Is there anything on my face?"

I was taken aback by her goddess look, and frantically gave an answer.

"No. You are beautiful as ever, manager-san."

That was my honest answer. She threw a smile and got back reading. Sorry, I couldn't help it manager-san. You _are_ beautiful.

"By the way, why did you call me for?

"Wait a minute, please. You'll see him soon."

Him?

"Yoko, excuse me for the toilet. My stomach was this terrible since morning."

A man came out from the office's toilet. I could tell that he was Westerner. He was tall, at least ten centimeters taller than me. Thick, brown eyebrows framed his bluish, stern eyes. He has neat brown hair, slightly bearded cheeks. His figure was just fit with an appearance of a model. His red suit showed a well balanced build of his body. But really, a model?

His eyes met mine.

"Is this young man you told me before?"

"Well yes. Fuusai, this handsome looking man is Robert, an acquaintance of mine. Robert, this is my most adorable employee, Fuusai."

Yoko-san introduced us each other.

"Glad to meet you. I'm Robert Sighart." He offered his hand.

"So am I, Robert-san. My name is Kyomatsu Fuusai." I took his hand and shaking it. His grasp was firm. I though this person is reliable.

"Now you've met each other. Robert, why don't you begin?"

"Begin for what?"

I timidly asked manager, but she refused to respond. She was just laid back on her chair and crossed her hands in front of her.

"Listen to what he says. Please sit down."

I did what manager told me. Robert-san, who already took a seat before me, was pulling out a few papers from his case. He scanned through it and cleared his throat.

"Fuusai-kun, I want you to give me a brief explanation about INFINITE."

What? Is he going to interview me? I tried to find a confirmation of this from manager. She nodded when I put a questioned face on. Alright, alright, let me go with the flow.

"INFINITE is a VRMMORPG that released approximately six months, one week and three days ago by a game company named [e-DREAM]. The game is 3-D, the best game with the best graphic ever created by human. Plus, it's a virtual reality. We can do anything like touching, smelling, running, even dying in the World of INFINITE, Arkgea. In short, what we can do in real world, we can do that in Arkgea too. Of course, there is a restriction related to some kind of actions since we can't allow any misfortune happened to users who were playing. The device that could bring us to realm of Arkgea is a single, circular interface that covers user's ears and eyes. This device is known as [sTIKI] (read: sticky), or [super-Transceiver Integration Kinetic Interface]. To use sTIKI, one should log on into INFINITE first via computer. Then put on the device, just like wearing glasses. When this device connects with INFINITE, it will secure the user by pressing a number of nerves inside user's ears and around user's eyes to make the user fall asleep. Part of this device ensures the user to 'integrate' their consciousness into the game. In there, their brains would work normally, sending commands to their customized avatar without worrying too much about their remained silent bodies in real world. Thanks to developer who thought something really genius about gaming gadgets nowadays. This device cuts off every signal emitted by brain, delivers them straight to fake body in game, avoiding further serious damage physically. So there is no accidents like a player continuously hit a monster but in real life, he just hurt his hands because his monitor severely damaged by his own hands. The current state, when a user leaps from real world to virtual realm of Arkgea, is called [Breakthrough]. The user, after couple of seconds will find themselves floating in amidst of darkness. The sequence of activating their avatars follows, and in instant they will be taken into a detailed, rich world of Arkgea."

Robert-san smiled and nodded slightly. He continued on another question.

"How do you describe Arkgea?"

"Arkgea is vast world, almost a perfect copy of the Earth itself. Monsters loom on every part of this World of INFINITE. Players should defeat them in order to create their own legend. The AI that controls the monsters is exceptionally observant and intelligent. It records every combat data and sets various unpredictable monsters regarding the data. The stronger the user, the monsters grow strong too. Even the Status of each monster, it shows arithmetical increase. I was surprised when facing a sixty level monster with totally different Status caps. Then I realized the fact, that I came up with a powerful party and almost all evolved skill are obtained. Still, it was a fun battle. I'm looking forward to discover hidden areas in Arkgea and battling enormous creatures there."

Robert-san wrote down something on that paper. His next question was..

"Do you have any complaint about s-TIKI?"

"There is none. Wait."

"Yes?"

I remembered something. It was a minor detail, but I need to spill it out.

"Recently, the linking delay between s-TIKI and the computer took longer than usual. The avatar activation sequence also affected. It has always been fifteen seconds delay."

"Right."

Robert-san added little notes on my petty detail.

"One last question, Fuusai-kun. Do you remember your first experience in Skill EVO?"

Ah, the moment I furiously screaming like a madman.

"Sure I do! I was playing INFINITE with my friends, forming a party of four, and went into [Abyss of No Return], where the [Dread Dragon] [Azmauth] lurked. I took [Berserker] Class at that time, one of my friends took [Huntress] Class and the rest of them picked [Shaman]. Berserker relies heavily on pure, brute strength. Huntress has capability of raining barrage of arrows upon enemies. Shaman focuses on Ancient Healing and destructive Voodoo magic. We had an average level of forty six, and Azmauth was roughly ten levels above us. The fight lasted considerably long, because Azmauth kept on healing himself after we launched our attacks. We were at disadvantage. Our supplies were completely gone in that battle. Our HP bars were all at critical. In next turn Azmauth would have our heads. So I was telling one of our Shamans to execute one spell when I cast an offensive spell upon myself. I was expecting something good would happen when the spells were cast. And the moment of truth approached. I cast [Battle Lust], an offensive skill learnt by Berserker and was acquired at level twenty five. This spell increased Strength, Defense, Attack Speed and Move Speed for a short period by seventy percent. It would last exactly sixty seconds after activation. At the same time, the spell chanted by the Shaman hit me. His spell was [Invoke], a Support type ancient magic. It has ability to increase Elemental Resist and Abnormal Condition stats by a hundred percent. Azmauth himself has various Status-inflicting attacks. Our party had been hit by Poison, Paralysis, and Bleeding attacks. That's way our supplies were gone easily in matter of seconds. This spell consumed a hell lot of MP, the cooldown was also long, five minutes for exact. We couldn't recklessly activate such spell in this situation, so I planned to unleash the spell at the end of battle.

The reddish aura of Battle Lust merged with the greenish aura of Invoke. Then it appeared. [Skill Evolved] sign was seen on top of us. I felt tremendous power circulating in my body. I was bathed in golden aura. The skill name popped out, [Victor's Fervor]. I read its brief explanation below. A godly skill that increases Strength, Defense, Attack Speed and Move Speed by 300%. Nullifies all abnormal status attacks. Skills cooldowns (including Ultimate Skill) are decreased to zero. Lasts ten seconds.

I became a skill spammer in instant. I hurriedly running towards Azmauth and simultaneously hit him with every Skill that I had. Ten seconds was enough. Azmauth's HP bar was critical and he got staggered from my last skill [Skull-shatter]. I jumped back and began charging for my Ultimate attack, [Galactic Impact]. It required three full seconds before activation. Victor's Fervor was only a second left, when I leap forward and swinging my weapon [Great Ogre], which was a mace, further back. Then I swung down my mighty mace and hit Azmauth on his head square and clear. Every bits of energy that had been gathered within the mace fiercely crushed the head of Dread Dragon. Azmauth defeated, and at the same moment I collapsed. I forgot to read the entire description of my newly acquired skill. This skill consumes all Stamina I had. I wouldn't able be move unless I used Fatigue-removal items several times or sleeping for three days straight. It was insanely powerful skill, and greatly decreased my stamina to a frightening degree. I even swore not to use that Skill unless the situation was completely worst."

When I was finished, Robert-san drew a few circles on his paper. It looks like Robert-san was pointing important parts. I could not hold the urge to ask him anymore.

"Robert-san, why did you asking me some questions?"

Robert-san put on a surprised expression.

"I thought Yoko already told you."

I shook my head. Then manager spoke.

"It would be best for you to tell him in person."

"Ah, alright. Fuusai-kun, I came from e-DREAM. In fact, I'm one of the programmer that work there."

Se-seriously!? This man, he really is a member of e-DREAM game company? Whoa.

"Here my card."

Robert-san offered me a small business card. I took it and read the content aloud.

"Robert Sighart. Progammer. 1st Division."

Th-then, this man is one of caretaker of INFINITE universe! He was supposed to work right now!

"Why did a programmer come here? As a programmer, you have priority to maintain most data intact."

"As a programmer too, we have our freedom to take break anytime, anywhere. Not a leisure time, though. We got orders from our superior to collect data and samples. Definitely not an easy one."

"And you decided to come here?"

"Yoko invited me last night. She wanted me to look after you. She thought you could help me with something related to INFINITE. She was right. I saw through your game log recorded by our hard drives, made a quick reference from it, and prepare some questions. You answered my questions clearly. I got some nice data."

"Why, thank you."

"Can I ask you to assist me in our current project? It's something easy. Maybe far too easy for you."

"What should I do?"

"You know how to debug?"

Hell yeah, I know it damn well. I nodded twice and grinned.

"You're pretty confident, Fuusai-san."

"Of course I am! It's my main subject back at university."

"Nice! Tomorrow, you can do your first task. Come early, because I will leave your first assignment to Yoko. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, it settled! Now I have to go back at work. Our president demanded us to show him some details about our new projects. Yoko, thanks for the invitation."

Robert-san stood up after packing his case. Manager got up from her chair and accept warm handshake from Robert-san. She replied back to him.

"The pleasure is mine."

"Fuusai-kun, don't be lazy. I know you had such a sleepy face, work hard!"

Yoko-san must be told him about my bad habits. I showed bitter smile to Robert-san.

"Good day!"

Robert-san left the office. Yoko-san and I parted him.

"Good day."

"Good day, Robert-san!"


	2. Chapter 2

Next morning, I got up very early. Really, I had never got up at six in my entire life, ever since I could remember things. First assignment from Robert-san could be the main reason why my body began to change. I gritted my teeth, slapped my cheeks couple times, and looked at bathroom mirror. I said hello to my own reflection.

"Good morning sleepy face. Got up early, huh?"

The face on the mirror – definitely mine – was something that you would usually see in the World's Laziest People. It has deep black, half-asleep eyes. The eyes was framed by couple thin eyebrows, the gap between them was almost half inches wide. It seemed like they could not sit together there. The cheekbones were barely visible, and the lips were smiling, slightly mocking. On the head there were untidy black-brownish hair combed by finger. Yes, this is my face. My school friends often mistook me because I looked like sleeping while doing something. "Isn't that sleepy face?" they said.

People were likely to avoid me at all cost. Since I knew few things they had in thought. First, I was no longer belonged to real world. They thought I belonged to dream world, or fantasy world. Second, I couldn't pay any attention to whatever they said. They thought my focus was wandering around the classroom. Third, I'd prefer hugging schoolbag and pillows than girls. They thought I was not interested in making relationship with women.

F*ck you all!

You guys knew nothing about me. All you did was judging me through my idiotic face. I was pissed off, but doing nothing to prevent collateral damage. I went through painful years of schooling. I bet nobody remembered about me. They were simply ignored me. I was nothing. My rage was already at its peak.

The only thing that could reduce it was online game. Every vacant hour, I spent it to play any kinds of online game. I always visited the nearest game center from my university. In there, I met so many game addicts. Every one of them greeted me sincerely. I felt something different in my heart. These people accepted me whoever I am. Little by little, I made friends with regular customers. We played along really well. They never looked at me as sleepy face. They called me 'Fuusai-kun', 'Fuusai-san', 'Fuusai-senpai'. We helped each other beating difficult games. We laughed, we cried, we talked as one big family. The game center became my favorite place to hang out on weekends. While other 'normal' guys went on a date, we just shouting and screaming in front of monitors. The employees of that game center would just laugh. It was kinda rare to witness such liveliness. We treasured our precious time together.

Even the sun gives his way to the moon. The good old days came to an end. Once called a family, we were just split our paths across another. No more gatherings, no more jokes, only memories remained. I was still visiting the game center despite the fact that we were already scattered across the country. Some even began living in another part of the globe. I was alone, again. The employees sometimes kept me company, even though I didn't come to play. Later I was asked by one of them to meet their manager.

"Is this an invitation to work here?"

I asked the person who gave me the information. The guy nodded.

"You could say that. She has been concerned about you for past four months."

Four months? If I recalled correctly, I had been visiting this game center for a hundred and sixty days. Those were times when I got my real buddies and the happiest period in my life. Why would this manager want from me? If I want to know why she was eyeing me, I had to meet her in manager office.

"Is she up there?"

I glanced upward to the third floor of this building. He chuckled.

"She rarely stepped down from her royal chamber up there, you know?"

Then I really had to meet this manager. I climbed the stairs leading to manager office. A neat nameplate made of silver was nailed on the entrance door. I gulped my saliva and knocked the door. A gentle voice could be heard.

"Who is it?"

"May I come in?"

There was no response. I felt a bit awkward in this situation. She definitely knew that I was not one of her employees. I heard footsteps coming this way. The door handle swung down, and the door opened.

An angel has descended from heavens and stood before my eyes. I couldn't let my sight go from this divine apparition. So pretty, so beautiful. I even said to myself, the word 'beauty' would envy her. I did not comprehend the holiness of an angel that is recorded in Bible or anything else, but I was completely petrified by this incarnation of Aphrodite. I thought my legs would give away and melt. God, I was lost at words. Oh, she showed me a heavenly smile!

"I should know it was you. Please come in."

Thank you for your kindness! But seriously, my legs had frozen! The aftershock from having a closer look of a goddess affected me this much! Man, I could die in embarrassment.

"My, my. You're overreacting."

She took my hand and dragged me into her small, but spacious office. Her hand was unbelievably soft. I could smell mysterious fragrance came out from her. It was a quite mixture of deep, elegant, and sweet scent. Was that incense? I became a little bewildered after the scent touched my nostrils.

"Please have a seat."

There were three couches around one oval table. I took the one which was closest to manager's desk. She sat on my right.

"My name is Yoko Minamoto."

"It's Kyomatsu Fuusai. Nice to meet you, Minamoto-san."

"Please call me Yoko."

It was our first meeting and she asked me to call her by first name?

"I can't. That's too . ."

"Please."

Shit! I couldn't reject it!

"Alright. Yoko-san."

She smiled.

"That's better. Anyway, I'm the manager of this game center. And you're our regular customer, right? Even you had registered as a member here."

"Yes, I am."

I took my wallet from my bag and pulled out a card. She recognized the card and nodded.

"That's the proof. You made this card along with another fourteen."

"Yes. We've been together since I got this card. But now, I'm the only one left here."

"I see. They're all gone."

Yoko-san said that with low voice. I scratched the ID card with my thumbnail. Fifteen of us had this card. I wondered what had happened to another fourteen.

"Ne, Fuusai-kun?"

"Yes, Yoko-san?"

"I'd like to ask you to work with us. We are low on human resources. We need someone to fill the empty spot. There were no job propositions 'till today, so I couldn't help but think that I should make you fill the spot."

It felt like a giant hammer dropped on my head. It was certainly a wakeup call from God. Because I was a graduate with no real job! But! I couldn't say anything. It was too good to be true! Yoko-san saw my troubled face.

"Fuusai-kun, I'm serious with the offer. You are the best, um, option available. For past four months, I saw your progress finishing each game with your trustworthy fellows. You were the most prominent. Your support was superb. You kept telling them to charge forward, and ignored any intervention. At those times, you were changed. I had never seen such determined expression. Just by looking at you, your friends became more relaxed. Hearing your gallant shouts, I could feel their fear faded away. You were always thoughtful about your actions. You've never abandoned them. How tight the situation was, your priority was your friends. You had faith in them, and they believed in you. This charm, I wouldn't be able to find it anywhere but here."

Yoko-san picked a remote from her pocket. She pushed a switch. The wall behind her slid open, revealing a number of monitor. They were CCTVs, and they were playing some recording. I saw myself and my best friends playing in high spirits. I saw everything Yoko-san told me. She was right. I became someone else.

"We can use your ability to lead people find the right way. The spot I mentioned earlier is not far from what you've done in the past. You only need to assist our customers who had problems with their games. You are a professional, I knew it. You can do this."

Again, I was speechless. This woman trusted me so much, despite our initial meeting. I barely knew her, but for a hundred and sixty days of observing she learnt everything about me. I felt proud and ashamed at the same time. Yoko-san only saw me who put everything on line when it comes to games. She didn't saw the daily me. I was afraid I would betray her expectations.

I felt so weak. I wanted to take this job, but I wouldn't make Yoko-san regret her decision to recruit me. I couldn't call myself a man if I made a woman cries. But I have decided.

"I can't, Yoko-san."

She has dark expression. I knew she would be shocked.

"Why?"

There was a bit of anguish in her voice. Good.

"Yoko-san didn't know who I was. You only knew me in my game mode. I, I was nothing but dirt!"

Her eyes wide opened. I bet she had never anticipated this.

"They were all ignored me! They concluded things which drove me mad! They never let me speak even once! For them, I was unseen. For them, I was nothing. For them, it was okay to eliminate me from society."

Her eyes became moist. My rage was overflowing. I didn't stop there.

"Did you know? I really wanted to beat the shit out of those damned people. I held grudge against them for the rest of my life. Now you want someone unstable like me work with you? Are you mad or something?"

I said that sarcastically. I was hoping she would kick me out of her office real soon. I chose to turn down her request. I wasn't good enough. But then she said one thing that would tear my heart apart.

"I will heal your wound."

What!? She didn't snap! Instead, she told me that while smiling! Not good! I wanted her to banish me forever from this place!

"I-I'm the bad guy!"

"I'll teach you how to do good deeds."

"I want to kill people!"

"I'll protect you from justice."

"I-I am an antisocial being!"

"You've made friends."

Is she invincible? None of my words made her waver! I became desperate.

Yoko-san got up from the couch. She walked towards me. She crouched in front of me and held my cheek gently. She was so close. Her breath smelled really nice. She looked into my eyes, and slowly said.

"You actually worried about this face. I think I know what they had in mind when they saw this face. But I'm not one of them. I like this face. A face that shows no aggression, but eventually will bring surprises out of nowhere."

She ran her fingers on my cheek. I was bewitched by her actions. Clearly, she wasn't seducing me. I felt familiar warmth came out from her hands. Instinctively, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. It was so smooth, yet so fragile.

"Why do you care so much about me, Yoko-san? I know nothing but your name."

I could see her cheeks turned red. She said shyly.

"I admire you."

Holy shiiit! Did she just confess? No, she only said that she admire me. But hell, it sounded like a confession! My face became hot for a moment!

"A-admire me... I don't get it."

"How should I put it?"

She let out a sigh. Then she sat on my lap. She placed her hands around my neck. She rested her head on my shoulder. Damn iiiiiiiiit! I felt like sexually assaulted, you know! This sudden intimacy made my brain melt! Even I got nosebleed! Her chest pressed against mine! Her fluffy buttocks agitated my manhood! Her sweet scent aroused my carnal desire to attack her! I tried my best to not lay my hands on her body. Crap! I want to hug you so bad, Yoko-san!

She whispered into my ear.

"I like you since your first visit. You had strange aura when you showed up. I didn't know what kind of aura that surrounds you. It just attracted people to get closer to you, especially when you were playing games. Back then, I could only say "Wow." I was dazed completely when your expression changed, from sleepy to dead-serious. Your tone, your action, they became deadly weapon as well as greatest shield for your friends. I fell for you because of that. I felt surprisingly calm when your face is shown in my monitor. I was at ease whenever you gave encouragement to your friends. You got thunderous voice, you know? I never felt lonely when you came here. I could spend my whole day just looking at your fabulous face. I guessed your friends would say the same thing. I know they would."

Whoa. This is… Whoa. She has deep affection towards me. She has been looking only me for four months. She fell for me despite my pitiful look. My tongue stiffened. My lips were shut. All I could do was embrace her. Passionately.

"Fuusai-kun?"

My body was shaking. It was the truth. I've never been in care by somebody except from my mom and the old landlord. Tears were flowing from my eyes. I was crying silently, while hugging a miraculous woman who fell for me because I showed her the serious part of myself. Yoko-san patted my head. She acted like onee-san.

"There, there. I'm sorry if my boldness made you cry."

Don't say that, please. I was surprised at first, but now I'm happy. Yes, you are a bold woman and I like that. I released my hugging. Yoko-san did the same then looking at me with super cute expression.

"Now this is my first time watching you crying like baby."

I laughed a bit when she said that.

"Well, Yoko-san is incredible woman, after all."

She smiled. She held both of my shoulder, and asked for last time.

"So, your answer is…?"

I nodded twice.

"Okay. Yoko-san, please accept me as your employee!"

"Great!

She laughed heartily. And she hugged me again. Somewhere in my heart, I felt something is being washed away. I didn't care what it was. I could only feel joy right now.

It was happened eight months ago. Two months later, INFINITE was officially released worldwide. My work became more fun and complicated. But my main motivator, Yoko Minamoto, kept cheering for me from her office.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I put on my uniform, out of bathroom and had breakfast. Five minutes later, I went to nearest subway and boarded the train. The train was not very crowded. There were many empty seats. As I was going to take a seat, I saw something uncommon on the far side of my wagon. It was a girl in long green robe with motives. She put the hood on. I couldn't see her whole face. I only saw her long silver hair, her slim lips and her necklace. It was beast-shaped. Dragon? I'm not sure.

She knew I was looking at her. She quickly hid behind few people on her left. Her head slowly rose from the side of those people. She was looking at my direction. I turned my gaze to left and right, but there was nobody except me. Wait, is she trying to follow me? Why would she do that?

The man beside the girl moved away a bit. The girl didn't notice his movements. When she tried to lean on him to take a peek on me again, she found nothing and fell. The way she fell was hilarious. I laughed a little. But the people seemed not to notice this incident. They just stood there. Weird.

"Auu… My nose…"

Oh, the girl spoke in my tongue! I thought she was foreigner, considering her hair color. She got up slowly and covering her nose. Too bad, she still had the hood on. I really wanted to see what kind of beauty behind that hood. She recovered her actions again. Now she hid behind some people on her right. She peeped at me again. What a clumsy girl.

Since she was not posing a threat, I let her do anything she wants. Ten more minutes before next station. Thirty minutes before my destination. I was getting sleepy. I yawned and stretched my body a little, before taking a short nap on train. I mumbled myself about what will happened today when I receive my first assignment from beautiful Yoko-san.

_To be continued….._


	3. Chapter 3

Strange.

That was my first impression when I opened my eyes. I was no longer in the train. What surround me was a bizarre space colored red, blue, white, and yellow. Those colors rotated in such order continuously without stopping. I was floating in the center of the space, wondering about how I could get in here. A faint glow appeared about six meters away in front of me. A human figure took shape inside the weak light. It was a woman.

"Don't come."

…What?

I thought she said something.

"Don't come."

This was a real nonsense.

"Sorry, but why were you telling me to not come? Do you know where I supposed to go? Who are you?"

"…."

Why the sudden silence?

"Are you listening? Hello?"

"If you wish…"

"What? "

"If you wish for peace, do not come."

I didn't get it! My lady, if you were telling me about the danger of my future, you'd better tell in full!

"I'm sorry. I don't understand you. What will happen to me? War?"

"Worse."

That single word had successfully injected fear into my spine. Her next sentence stirred my sanity for a few seconds.

"The fate of the worlds is yours."

After saying such nonsense, the light dispersed into particles and finally disappeared. The odd dimension cracked and I was sent back to my body. I swiftly got up from my nap. What was that? One minute before reaching the final station. I checked the recent situation. The train became much crowded than nine minutes ago. The girl in robe was unable to seen. I couldn't catch a glimpse of her anywhere. Maybe she had jumped off at previous station.

Arrived at designated station, I eventually took a stroll to my usual workplace. Along the way I opted to think a little. The dream I saw just recently is somewhat hard to believe. I was a normal human. I possessed nothing extraordinary. And I just know one world. The Earth! I couldn't say that Heaven and Hell as the world a man can leisurely walk into. But the woman wrapped in light and that clumsy girl, I felt uneasy about them.

After leisurely walked along pavement, I arrived at the usual workplace of mine, [GameCenter "50-50"]. It was 07.45, but the building is unlocked. Yoko-san probably came early today, considering what happened yesterday. I made quick steps inside the building and headed to manager office. I knocked the door as always.

"Excuse me!"

There was no response. Eh? I thought she was in here. I grabbed the handle and opened the door. See? The door was unlocked. The only person who held this room key is without doubt Yoko-san. But where is she now?

"Excuse me for intrusion."

I looked around the inside. Empty. But I saw a yellow handbag on her desk. Ah, as I expected.

"You're early."

A woman's voice came from my back. I jumped a little before turned around. Yoko-san was there, carrying a large rattan basket of fresh baked buns.

"You scared me, Yoko-san."

"Ufufu. May I come in?"

It was me who blocked the entrance. I moved away a bit.

"Uh, sure."

Yoko-san stepped in and putting the basket on the oval table. Yoko-san turns her face to me and saying 'Take your seat'.

"You bought these buns?"

I became interested to the buns she brought. Yoko-san pouted and put on an angry face.

"Uu… Try another guess."

Waa, so cute! Her expression always mesmerized me. I scratched my cheek a little.

"Un, you made these?"

"Nice guess!"

She gave me a really bright smile. I could see the flowers blooming on the background. My heart warmed a little. I picked a small bun from the basket, jokingly asked:

"I can eat this, can't I?"

"No!"

Yoko-san's immediate answer startled me. My mouth was wide opened and my hand which holding the bun stopped an inch away. She nimbly snatched the bun from my hand.

"It's my favorite strawberry jam bun!"

Ah, I thought it was just a plain bun. Yoko-san turned her back and start eating the bun. I could only see her in amazement. She would act as a strict manager and in another occasion as my onee-san. Right now she acted like a spoiled child who hate everyone touched her favorite stuff.

"But, if Fuusai-kun really wants to eat this bun…"

"Yes?"

Shyly, Yoko-san turned her body and facing me again, with a very little piece of bun stuck between her pink lips. My heart thumped as I predicted something awfully good will happen. God, don't tell me she is going to…?

Slowly, she reached me who idly sat on the couch. She put her arms on my shoulders and pushed them gently. Her right kneecap rested on a small opening between my thighs. She lowered her beaming face, closing the distance between our lips. Instinctively, or rather, driven by inner will to bite her lips, I also moved my head onward. Only a few millimeters away, and our lips would be locked each other. I felt a soft sensation touching my upper lip. Then the moist of slightly wet strawberry bun, which was gradually slide inside my mouth. Finally, a complete sticky-plump-and-wet feeling enveloped my lips. Yep, I was kissing with my lovely manager-san.

It was not a deep kiss, though. I sucked her lips twice, drinking her saliva. After a few seconds (seemed a few hours for us), our lips parted. I carefully not letting a single saliva thread left, and licked her lips once. She let out a relieved sigh while showing her glowing face.

"… That was a bit intense."

She whispered. She was running her index finger on my lips. I couldn't pull any cool line as I felt terribly happy. I just nodded and smile defiantly. Yoko-san seemed surprised when she saw my mischievous smile.

"Arara, Fuusai-kun wants to go further…"

She knew what I had in mind. Terrific woman, I should say. I didn't frown when she muttered about it. I was glad. It was because you acted like a real girlfriend.

"I'm sorry. Sometimes I couldn't stand with your boldness level."

She giggled and patted my forehead. She retracted her body and away from my lap. I kept on looking her gorgeous figure. Part of me said I was lucky becoming an employee under her management. The other part of me said I was pitiful because I couldn't make any serious approach towards manager-san. I shook my head to erase such unpleasant thought.

"It was really delicious, Yoko-san. The bun."

"You can have more. I made it for you, after all."

"Hee, really?"

"Take it all. I think you need more energy to finish the task from Robert."

"Un…"

I nodded slightly. I really couldn't ask more from Yoko-san. At this rate, I have no doubts she would soon act as a mother.

"Here it is. Your very first task from Robert."

Yoko-san handed me a SFD (stands for super flash drive). On top of it there was a [projectKF01] written.

"He said your task is mainly to test the durability of an item, finding slightest error on environmental processing, or even to test skills. You have to do Breakthroughs every time you given the task. After that, please write the bug you find and send them directly to e-DREAM HQ. I will give you the e-mail address later."

"Okay."

I put the drive inside my breast pocket. Yoko-san continued with her briefing.

"It might be a little inconvenient, but you have to finish a single task within a week. The next task will always come on Monday. Therefore you need to send your bug report immediately after you finished the previous task. But, if you really can't do the task, or stops halfway, you are permitted to prolong your work for another week. After the third week, you can't add a week more to accomplish your task, and Robert will have you send back the task with your excuse report."

"So, unless the task is ridiculously difficult, I only get seven days to work. The actual limit for me is three weeks, when that ultra hard task is coming. Basically, Robert-san also wants me to learn from scratch and watch my progress again. Is that correct?"

"I supposed so."

"It's going to be tough."

"You will do it anyway."

"Hell yeah, I will!"

I slammed my right fist to my left hand. Yoko-san said 'Good luck' before letting me out and work as assistant as usual. I forgot to tell Yoko-san about one thing, so I stopped walking and shout from distance. My voice went through the office door which still opened wide.

"THANK YOU FOR THE KISS, YOKO-SAN! I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GET ANOTHER ONE!"

A moment of silence. Then I heard manager-san screaming full of anger, probably mixed with embarrassment.

"FUUSAI-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"

Fwahaha, I laughed in my heart. It was fun to tease Yoko-san. I ran back to my post, behind the first floor's front desk. And my usual work began.

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

Swords clashing.

Stench of fresh blood.

Explosions everywhere.

Deaths.

People are screaming.

Magical bullets flying from every direction.

Arrows, spear throws, even catapults.

Madness is happening.

And I, Kyomatsu Fuusai, somehow got stuck in the middle. I was just standing there, dumbstruck. I couldn't grip anything from this sudden event.

I believed I was logged in from my apartment, to the realm of Arkgea. My destination was clear, which was to bring out the skill testing for Robert-san. I was sure that my landing point would be the outskirt of [Nanara Settlement], located far north from [Nanaran Great Desert] as stated in briefing document from the drive. I was wondering why the delay after Avatar Activation was much, much longer than fifteen seconds. A glitch occurred? Finally, when the teleportation sequence ends, I landed. Not at Nanara Settlement, but at scorching plains of somewhere else.

This is a hell of a joke.

Soldiers were fighting each other vigorously. They killed one another before getting killed again by another. Pools of blood came to form under their bodies. The sky was burning red, horrendous black smoke flew up straight tainting it. The sun is nowhere to be seen. Long roars could be heard anywhere. My body won't listen to what my brains order them to. Make your move, stupid legs! For soon I will be a BBQ steak!

Then, something hit my right shoulder. My body jerked to the left a bit. I felt a bite. Then pain. Then numb. I timidly turned to look at the thing which buried deep in my shoulder. It was an arrow. Someone got the wrong idea and shot me. Hey, I'm not you enemy! I don't know who you are. Why me?

The archer dude from my right took another quiver and took aim again. He was pointing that sharp tip to me again. I don't wanna feel that dangerous thing again. I shook my head and trying to move my legs again. They won't listen again. That's it. I'm done for.

As that archer retracted his big bow all the way to his back, I stood in fear. Tears were flowing on my cheeks. The archer dude let the string loose. An arrow rushes it way to my body. Or my head. I closed my eyes and pray. God, why do you so cruel to me? And you, stupid legs! Why you won't listen? If I dead, I'll put all the blame to you! If I dead, I won't ever see Yoko-san again. If I dead, I will make Robert-san angry and disappointed. Really, really shameful and wasteful life I had ever lived. To suffer such misfortune when I began to steer my pathetic fate to wonderful one…

….

Huh?

When it will hit? My body or my head should be pierced by that shitty arrow this second. But why I didn't feel anything? The constant pain from my right shoulder is still there, though. What happened to the arrow?

Slowly, I opened my eyes. What was I see next, I couldn't believe it.

"Ohayou gozaimasu!"

There she was. A girl in red armor. [Samurai] armor, to be precise. She was still holding her katana on her left hand, the tip is facing away from me. I was surprised when I see her. But there was something that made me feel more than just surprised. Her face, that is. From any angle, she was the exact copy of my manager Yoko Minamoto. Well, except her slightly higher tone. Then, a question was flashing out in my little head. What the heck did Yoko-san do here?

"Hey!"

She pinched my nose without hesitation. I was brought back to reality with her action.

"Wh, what was that for!?"

"I thought you're asleep. Are you awake now?"

"I am awake! No need to pinch me so hard!"

"Really? Then why you didn't fight back? You just stood there while your consciousness flying somewhere. You're a sitting duck, y'know?"

She's got a point there. If I tell her the reason, she won't believe me anyway.

"I was scared."

"Hee…"

I saw a glimpse of disbelief on her face. It was the truth! She put her katana back in the sheath. Then she folded her hand in front of her chest.

"I was shocked when I got the report that a civilian was seen amidst the battle. I swept the whole plains to find the whereabout of this civilian. Then I saw someone without any armor equipped."

"Me?"

"You're not one of their army. You also didn't wear any armor from our side. So, civilian. How did you enter this battlefield?"

I wish I knew how! But I didn't! I don't have proper answer for your question.

"I, I don't know. Honestly, I don't recognize all these guys."

She seemed thinking about what I said. My God, even she has that pose. Yoko-san always put one hand on her waist while thinking hard about something. She also pouted and murmuring when she got nothing after squeezed out her brains. I could tell this samurai lady is troubled. I muttered something in almost inaudible tone.

"What is Yoko-san doing here?"

She stiffened. Her troubled expression vanished. Her eyes now filled with suspicious look. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed my neck with his right. Oh, man. Did she listen to what I said earlier? Damn, she got strong arm!

"How did you know my name?"

Shit! I forgot that this world is different! There is no way my manager would dress up like this. But her name is identical with Yoko-san in my world! It was a serious coincidence.

"I just remembered about a woman I know. Her name is, ack, similar with you."

I got choked from her grab. She put a certain amount of strength on her right hand. Man, I could feel my neck is going to break.

"That was something a spy would say. Tell me one thing. Are you working with those bastards?

A spy? Me? Working with unknown people? I held her right arm, trying to make her reduce the pressure on my neck.

"Are you crazy? I don't know anything about them! I swear!"

"Liar!"

She pushed me down. For a woman, her strength is beyond my calculation. Is she a monster? She held my body down with her body. I couldn't breathe.

"You're…killing me… Ugh…"

She gave me a grin that sends chill down to my spine.

"No, I won't kill you now. I need you to tell me everything. Because a spy like you is essential."

"I… told you… I'm not a spy! EAAAARRGH!"

Suddenly, she grabbed the arrow that stuck in my right shoulder with her left hand, and twisted it. The metal messed up the muscles and blood veins. Satisfied with my reaction, this Yoko-san copycat released my neck and whispered:

"Worry not. You will get extras when we arrive at my HQ."

She pulled her right hand all the way to her back and scored a clean hit on my face.

Knocked out.

As my consciousness fading away, I heard she said something about 'Pick this one. He is a spy from Valandor" and stuff.

Blank.

_My, my.._

A voice echoes inside my head. It was a woman, but I never heard this deep tone. It was different than my manager, the copycat, or the woman from that odd dimension.

_Wake up, lad. You don't have time for this._

I want to, but I can't. They will kill me.

_Why would they kill you?_

I'm a spy. She said I'm a spy.

_Nonsense! You're not someone that fond of risking your own life for petty information._

Yeah. I'm me. I'm an ordinary human. With an ordinary job. And extraordinary turn of events.

_That's half correct._

What do you mean? Do you know more about me? About this world?

_You have to find your answers by yourself. Don't panic. You're more capable than you think._

Is that so? It seems that you believed in me. But who are you? Why contacting me while I'm unconscious?

_Ufufu. You'll be glad when we meet someday. Let's just say, I'm your guardian. I need to confirm your resolve while revealing the truth that brought you here from your world._

My guardian? A women?

_Careful, lad. I'm no ordinary women. And you're no ordinary lad either. We're bound by destiny._

What kind of destiny? Tell me! Please!

_You have to wait. After you got your feet back on the ground, you will find me. And I must warn you about something._

What is it?

_No cheating._

What the heck was that? Are you my mom or what? Geez, saying something unclear like that.

_Ufufu. Alright, rest time is over. Now, get up! Get up, lad!_

"Ugh…"

I felt like my back got slapped by somebody. My eyes are wide opened now, thanks to that voice. I scanned my surroundings. Okay, I was inside a tent. It was a white large military tent with a distinct symbol on four sides. I was sitting on a wooden chair and my wrists are tied on my back. Oh, well. I guess I'm a captive. I must be taken here by her military friends. Next, maybe I will get a series of torturing from them. They will do as they please to make me spit out valuable information. Of course I'm eager to do so. But, it was the fact that I didn't know shit about Valandor. No matter how they will treat me, I've got nothing to say.

I looked down on my clothes. I was not familiar with the clothes but from her point of view I was a civilian. There was stain of blood. Ah, she broke my nose. That's why my nose felt a little wet and itchy. The arrow in my right shoulder had not been taken yet. Is this her order to let the arrow stick in?

Oops, someone is coming inside. No, two people are coming in. A nun and a fellow samurai. The nun had a light blue air. Her golden scarf covered the rest of her hair. Her purple eyes caught my attention. I got a certain solemn feeling from them. She had a quite slender figure. I could tell this from her simple white garments. As for the samurai, he had a glossy black tacky hair. From his childish look, I presumed he was only two years younger than me. Even the nun looked like his sister. He wore the same equipment as the copycat Yoko. Without the katana, though. It is likely they will going to ask me some minor details.

"Why don't you let me treat his wounds?"

The nun asked the samurai impatiently. He only shrugged and facing another way.

"It's an order from Yoko-sama. I even can't let Raylia-nee acted on your own."

My guess is correct. They're blood related. The nun pouted and pulled his ear.

"Won't you listen to my request just for once, Garphas?"

"E-even if Raylia-nee do this, I won't! Let me go!"

The boy insisted to keep her away from me. The nun sighed and let his brother go.

"I wonder. Who is your sister, actually."

The boy chuckled and jokingly answered.

"You are my real sister, Raylia-nee. But when it comes to duty, I have to listen to what Yoko-sama said without exception. I must not hold the pledge of [Red Crescent]."

The nun, Raylia, only shook her head in disbelief.

"When she heard this, she will spoil you like crazy. Really, that girl is too strict with her unit, but also too kind."

"That's Yoko-sama for you."

The nun Raylia turned her face and noticed me. She threw a soft smile.

"You're up. Thank goodness."

Garphas the samurai brother also shifted his gaze upon me. It was a disgust look. He smirked and said:

"You shouldn't speak to dangerous guy like that, Raylia-nee. He is a spy."

"I don't think so. Besides, that was what Yoko told you."

"It was. It's the truth."

"I'm not a spy. Or a dangerous guy."

I said what I have to say. The nun smiled again and approaching me. Garphas warned her.

"Raylia-nee, don't…!"

"That's okay. You heard him, didn't you? There is no way a weakling like him become a spy."

What the hell? Her face is pretty but she had a sharp tongue. Ouch. The boy laughed when Raylia said this.

"You're right, Raylia-nee. He is weak. Yoko-sama said that she was close to breaking his neck with her right."

Another sharp remark. These guys are good. I think I could die without any physical torture. Raylia touched my forehead. Her hand was cold. Such a pleasant feeling. I couldn't help but smiling.

"Why are you smiling, stranger?"

"Your hand gave me a soothing feeling. And my name is not stranger."

Raylia quickly pulled her hand back. She hid both of her hand in her pockets.

"Then tell us your name."

"Fuusai. Kyomatsu Fuusai. Nice to meet you, Raylia-san, Garphas-kun."

I bowed my head a little since I couldn't move my body too much. The nun gave me a proper reply but her brother was not.

"Nice to meet you too, Fuusai-san. I'm Raylia Doneraito."

"How dare you! You should address me 'the mighty samurai warrior Garphas-sama'!"

The nun hit his head mercilessly. A huge bruise formed on his head.

"Garphas, please behave. Answer him kindly."

"Augh! Sorry! Okay, okay! My name is Garphas Doneraito. Nice to see you."

She's not different than that copycat. Strict. Well, since we did an introduction we might as well continue this dialogue.

"Where is she?"

I wondered why she held me here. Raylia gave a simple reason for her absence. Easygoing, aren't you?

"Yoko? She is still bargaining with the Prime Commander about your condition."

"P, Prime Commander?"

I was shocked because such rank actually existed. Prime?

"Yep. Leader of all leaders."

The samurai boy kindly answered. Very well! I was a bit nervous when the boy still quiet.

"A rank below the king, then?"

There. I chained another question to lessen their anxiety.

"Uh huh."

Short reply from the nun. Fine. The next one is coming, brother and sister!

"And Yoko is…?"

"The leader of Red Crescent, an all samurai warriors unit that is also served under his command. My best friend since we were five. Popular among men in her hometown. Strongest female warrior ever in this region."

Raylia explained Yoko-san 's profile briefly after blinked a few times. Amazing woman, Yoko-san is.

"Interesting. Do you know what kind of food she likes?"

"Baked buns. Cheese fondue. Chicken soup. Sometimes sushi."

"The drinks?"

I threw a question to Garphas. He was a bit dazed when I did this.

"Sake! But she loves apple juice and lemon on the rocks, too!"

"No vegetables?"

"Umm, she hates cucumber. I don't know why. Just ask her."

"Sure, I will."

No more ice blocks between us three. Raylia tapped Garphas back and winked. Garphas sighed as he knows what's inside his sister's mind.

"Alright. Just this once. I'll help too. Because you can't do this alone."

"Now that's my cute brother."

Raylia gave a soft pinch on his left cheek and smiling. Definitely a unique way to express her love to his brother. Garphas pulled out a knife from his waist and walked around me. He cut the rope that tied my hands.

"Onee-san will treat your wound. Try to restrain your voice, please."

"Ah, okay. I'll do my best."

Raylia knelt down several inches away from us. Garphas' left was holding my left shoulder and his right locking my right arm movement. The nun was chanting something.

"It was the prayer of Light Goddess, [Lumia]. Raylia-nee is a [Bishop]. Lumia favors every person with job similar to her."

In INFINITE, Bishop is a versatile Class which excels in Holy magic and Heavenly healing techniques. Its magic power is commendable and is on par with Shaman. Of course, there is no such worship system in INFINITE. They only utilized skills and improved them. This world is really different.

"Lumia. Bishop. I will remember it."

Raylia got up. Her hands were enveloped by white luster. She bowed a little and reached out her hand to my right shoulder.

"This magic will suspend excessive pain on your shoulder. Still, there is a good chance for your nerves to get invoked by the movements of the tip. I don't know how deep it was, please bear with it."

"Actually, Yoko already moved this damn arrow. Maybe it became less deep than it was."

"Or even get deeper. God knows."

"Fuusai-san, here I go."

The moment Raylia placed her hands on me, I didn't feel anything. It was like I got morphine injection. I could feel her hands, though. The pain is nowhere to be felt. I focused my sight on appealing face of Raylia. Her cherry colored lips were muttering something. It might be a continuous spell to retain the effect of her magic. She grabbed the body of the arrow firmly and adjusted her eyes to me. 'Trust me' is something she said through her purple eyes. I nodded once.

_To be continued…_


End file.
